The Ryu Chronicles
by jediryu
Summary: One of Ryu's travels. Reviews wanted and welcome.
1. Chapter 1

_Authors note: _

_The Street Fighter characters are the exclusive property of Capcom. I don't know who owns the Walker: Texas Ranger characters, CBS-TV I think, I do not own them, I just borrowed them for a little while so please don't sue._

**The Ryu Chronicles**

**By**

**jediryu ©**

He was walking this day, the same as any other day. He walked everywhere, except on water of course. In those cases he would find the first commercial flight going his direction. This day found him walking on the side of an asphalt road with waves of heat shimmering off of the black surface in the distance but seemingly absent where he walked.

Dressed in his trademark white gi, sleeves torn away at the shoulders and torn at his ankles, red headband flipping in a gentle breeze and black belt tied around his waist, Ryu thought to himself: "Beautiful day today. The sky is clear, the air is warm and even a light breeze." Stopping for a moment, he dropped his bag from his shoulder, opened it, and pulled out a map and a bottle of water. Two sips later, the bottle was back in his bag as he looked over a map. "Let's see," he thought to himself. "I crossed the Texas state line three days ago and I'm halfway to my destination in Houston, excellent. If I keep this pace my supplies will see me into Houston without a problem."

As ever and always, he was looking for that next great challenge, the next strongest opponent, the next step on his path to becoming a true warrior. "I should be able to find something along those lines in Houston." he thought. Putting the map back in his bag and retying it, he threw it over his shoulder and continued walking.

Cordell Walker was driving his silver dodge ram pickup down the road on his way back to Houston to file his reports from a joint operation along the Texas-Mexico border with his partner Trivette, sleeping on the passenger side. Thinking to himself to pass the time: "What an operation. Texas Rangers, DEA, and INS all working together for a change instead of bickering over jurisdiction, I wish all joint operations could go that well. Alex will be seeing these reports since her office gets to file all the charges. She probably won't believe it."

Thinking of his wife inevitably led to thinking of his daughter Angelina. He couldn't help but smile as he thought of their two-year old daughter. So far, the terrible twos hadn't been that bad, but there _were_ days. As he drove, he saw a white blur in the distance that resolved into a person walking on the side of the road. As the distance closed, Walker thought to himself: "Karate judging by the gi, been at it for some time because he has a black belt, I'm not sure if the headband is indicative of any particular style of karate though. He's walking barefoot in this heat! It has to be at least ninety degrees and the asphalt must be twice that!" Walker considered pulling over and letting him hop in the back but as he got nearer he felt the unmistakable aura of a fighting spirit.

"Wow"; he thought to himself. "I haven't felt that much power since . . . I can't remember when." The moment of decision came and went as he drove past the stranger. "Whoever he was, he radiated enough power to make my hair stand on end." Involuntarily, he shivered. Not that Walker was afraid, far from it. Just that it was unusual to encounter so much fighting spirit in this day and age . . .

The truck drove by on its way and was quickly lost in the distance as Ryu mused to himself: "A strong fighting spirit in that vehicle. It would be interesting to meet him in a fight." Just coming into view over a small hill in the far off distance was a stand of trees. Ryu looked to the sky and guesstimated the time as late afternoon. "Good." he thought to himself, it will be getting close to sunset as I get to those trees. A perfect place to stop for the night."


	2. Chapter 2

Three days later saw Ryu entering Houston, Texas. Thinking to himself: "Now to find a place to restock and get the information I need to find the fights." Ryu mused to himself, "no matter where you go in the world; you will always find at least one underground fight circuit in every major city. Sometimes more than one. Then of course you have the ultra-secret Tournaments like the Street Fighter ones or the King of Fighters."

He continued his train of thought and said: "The King of Fighters is a tournament I wouldn't mind entering sometime. Your choice of entry from one to three person teams. Who would I want on my team?" Ryu said to himself. "I know I could count on Ken to team up with me for sure. Maybe Chun-Li or Terry Bogard or Ryo Sakazaki would make a good team-up as well. If Sagat could only get past his hatred of me for defeating him in the first Street Fighter tournament he would be a powerful ally. It's too bad that he joined Shadowlaw and Bison."

For a moment, the thought of Bison triggered a surge of memories that were mostly unpleasant. There was the time that Bison had captured him and turned him into a mindless slave that had nearly killed his best friend Ken, back when Ryu was just learning about Hadou. Unconsciously, Ryu rubbed at the scar under his headband where the control chip had been. Then there was the time that Bison had captured Ken and used a different kind of mind control on him. Both times, Ryu thought that Bison had been defeated but evil like Bison's was never truly gone. "Oh well, such is the nature of evil." he mused. "That there can never be good without evil to balance it is a foregone conclusion. If that is my karma, then so be it. I would gladly fight, rather than let someone like Bison rule the world."

As he crossed a street he passed a storefront and heard a crash and an exclamation of: "I don't understand, I don't understand!" The only thing that made this stand out in Ryu's mind was that it was stated in his native Japanese. He stopped where he was and looked into the store. He saw an older Japanese couple, obviously the store owners because they were behind the counter being yelled at by a young man and two companions. All three youths sported shaved heads, jeans in various states of disrepair and tank tops. There were many piercings as well as tattoos of skulls and swastikas. The youth in front of the other two was yelling: "Learn my language you worthless jap slope heads! Gimme your goddamn money now or I'll gut you both and mount you on my wall at home!"

This last remark set the three to laughing as they each drew a knife and stepped toward the couple. Ryu wasted no words as he threw his bag full force and hit the youth in front, full on the side of the head and sent him sprawling. The other two stopped laughing and looked over at what they thought would be a dead man shortly. One of them said: "Man, another gook. I swear they seem to come out of the woodwork around here." The speaker started to charge at Ryu.

Ryu stepped across intohis Joudan Sokutou Geri side kickthat caught the youth square in the gut and sent him careening to the side into a rack of chips. The second youth flipped his knife in his hand and threw it at Ryu's chest. Ryu saw it coming in seeming slow motion thanks to the Hadou of Intent that he had long since mastered and caught the knife one handed. Using the momentum of the thrown knife, Ryu spun on the ball of one foot and threw it back at the ground between the legs of the one who had thrown it, where it stuck in the tile floor with a slight quivering motion. The skinhead stared open mouthed at the flawless catch and return and quickly lost his will to fight. As he tried to run around a display and back into the street Ryu was in front of him suddenly.

This skinhead too, quickly joined his moaning companion on the floor after a quick one-two punch combination to the gut and face. The last skinhead had since gotten up and was coming up behind Ryu to stab him in the back when one of the shop owners said: "Behind you Ryu-san!" Ryu already knew but appreciated the warning anyway and used his best basic technique. In his many travels, his spinning heel kick had given many opponents pause. This one was no different as it caught the skinhead across the face and spun the youth around where he crashed into a Hostess display and lay still.

All told, the entire fight was done in little over a minute. Ryu turned to the owners and bowing low, apologized in Japanese and offered to pay for the damages. The owners returned the bow and said in accented but perfectly understandable English: "Thank you Ryu-san but you don't have to pay anything. We are grateful for your aid. In way of thanks, please take what you need."

As much as Ryu wanted to pay for everything, he knew it would be incredibly rude to ignore the gift, so he found what he needed, put it in his bag and said: "Thank you for your kindness but how do you know my name? I just got into the city." The shopkeeper said: "We know of you because you helped to destroy Shadowlaw. When Shadowlaw started taking over the local Yakuza, who were already charging us "protection", the Shadowlaw leader suddenly dropped out of sight and everything started to return to normal here, but now you must go. The local police will be here soon and we can't have our rescuer get arrested for streetfighting can we?" This last was said with a laugh. Ryu said: "Do you know where I can find the local fights?" The shopkeeper said: "Look downtown for a man who goes by the street name "Ulsio the Rat", he can direct you from there." Ryu thanked them and bowed again as he walked out of the store and looked for the street signs pointing the way to downtown.


	3. Chapter 3

Meanwhile, Ulsio the Rat was being thrown against the wall as he wailed: "Okay, okay man I'll tell you whatever you want to know but please don't hit me anymore okay?" Francis Gage, 'Gage' to his friends, chuckled and said: "Why are you looking at me? Tell it to her." This said as he pointed at his partner Sydney Cooke, 'Syd' to her friends, as she said: "Don't you ever touch me again rat-boy, or I'll do more than give you a bloody nose. Where is the next fight being held at?"

Sydney and Gage walked into the Texas Ranger office and stood in front of Walker's desk as they gave their report: "Ulsio says the next fight is in the warehouse district in one week. Number 94 I think, right Gage?" Gage said: "That's right Syd. This is supposed to be a big one too. High rollers and big money, the kind of things we got into the Rangers to put an end to." Walker sat back in his chair and mulled it over. Looking over to Trivette's desk he said: "Anything on the internet yet?" Trivette looked up from his screen and said: "Yeah. I've made a few hits and misses. It will be covered live on-line with bets starting at $1000 just to ante up and going higher from there. Why do people do this kind of thing Walker?"

Walker said: "Fighting or betting on fighting?" "Both", Trivette clarified. Walker smiled and said: "Well the fighting has any number of reasons behind it. Making money of course is the main one. Others do it because that's the only life they know, some for the reputation they can get for winning, others just to prove something. The people who bet on that kind of thing do it to again, make money, but also for the visceral thrill they get from it." Here's what we'll do, Sydney and Gage, I want you both to go in undercover. You can decide who will be what, manager, fighter or spectator. Get inside and start noting times, places and dates if you can."

Gage thought a moment and said: "Wouldn't be easier to go in as fighters?" Walker grimaced a little and said: "Only as a last resort. I don't want either of you getting busted up or worse." Gage smiled and said: "Us? Get busted up? Not likely." All four had a laugh and then went to their respective desks to start the operation rolling.

One week later saw Sydney and Gage in a limousine with tinted windows so dark that they couldn't see out. The fights, as it turned out were by invitation only, so Gage, under cover as a manager, in a custom cut suit that made him look truly handsome in Sydney's eyes was saying: "I'm telling you Syd, I've got a bad feeling about this, maybe we shouldn't do it."

Sydney on the other hand, as the fighter was in a pair of spandex cycling pants with a matching top and sport bra underneath with her hair tied up into buns. She said: "We've been over this before Gage; I won the toss so I get to go in as the fighter." Gage, still remembered the way the wind had been knocked out of him after she threw him to the training mat back at Ranger headquarters said: "It's not your fighting that bothers me. It's the details that Trivette found out about this particular fighting circuit. How the two best fighters finish out with the highest of the high rollers deciding if the loser lives or dies. That's why the Rangers are even in on this case, because of the deaths that have been showing up in metro's in-basket." Sydney said: "I know Gage. I know. I'm touched at your concern for me but if I get to the finals, you can hit the panic button that Trivette gave you and that will bring in the S.W.A.T. team before the fight can even begin."

Sydney and Gage both knew that they could speak so plainly because the surveillance division had cleared the limo of any listening devices before they left for the fight, but even that reassurance had not truly satisfied Gage's misgivings. Finally, the limo came to a stop and as they got ready to get out, Gage said it again: "Just be careful Syd." She smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek as an answer as the door opened.

The fights had been going on for a little over two hours and the pack was thinning out. Gage had used the "flash-money" that had been given to him to spread around to help build his and Sydney's cover. The remaining fighters were the usual assortment of street scum, boxers, loan-shark enforcers, actual martial artists trying to prove themselves and more than a few down-on-there-lucks just trying to get enough money to cover rent and food.

There was one person there though that stood out to Gage besides his partner. He had been introduced as "Ryu" to the onlookers before his fights. Gage had watched him closely. While his stance seemed open, his torso at an oblique angle to his opponent, his legs shoulder width or so and his front arm low at the waist with his opposite hand held high close to his head, in reality, it turned out that his defense was practically impenetrable.

His first few fights didn't last long, nor did he waste time by showing off anything more than what he needed to finish the fight. At the moment, Gage was wishing he had won the toss so he could fight this Ryu fellow but Sydney _had_ won the toss and her turn was up to face him. Sydney was one of only four women who had entered; the other three had already been eliminated. The first by Sydney herself, the second by a hulking bruiser and the third had left after her second fight due to injuries.

Of those fights, only the second had really grated on Gage's nerves. All his life he had been taught never to hit a woman except in legitimate self-defense or a sanctioned and controlled training environment. God knew that Sydney had gotten a few bruises training with him but she always got back up and congratulated him on a good shot. The bruiser had dominated the fight from the beginning. Slapping her silly and insulting her the whole time with all manner of female slurs. Gage had nearly lost his cool but the event bouncers got into it and pulled him off of the poor woman. She had left on her own but still it nagged at him. Gage was forced to remember that she had stepped into the ring on her own so must've known the risks. Sydney's fights till now had been pretty good. She'd only been hit once and the black eye was only now appearing, but her opponent, Ryu, hadn't been touched yet. This promised to be a good fight.


	4. Chapter 4

Ryu stepped into the space cleared for the ring and waited for his opponent; "Syd the Kid" as she was being introduced. Ryu had watched everyone's fights when not actually fighting. "No such thing as too much information," he said to himself. As she stepped into the ring, Ryu got his first really good look at her.

Athletic, and slim without being petite and muscularly toned from head to foot. He could tell by the way she carried herself that she knew her skills, and her fighting spirit was good. "Strange", he said to himself, she reminds me of Chun-li a little. Next time I'm in Hong Kong, I'll have to tease her a little." The ring "Official" for lack of a better term stepped in and looking at Ryu said: "Are you ready?" Ryu nodded. Looking over at "Syd the Kid", he said the same thing: "Are you ready?" At her nod he lowered his arm and declared: "Let's get it on!"

Sydney had fared well so far in these fights. Only a black eye to show for it. When she could, she had watched Ryu's fights and was impressed at his demeanor. Simple, almost elegantly so in his techniques. No wasted motion, no showing off. He was here to better himself as fighter. No more and no less. She said to herself: "Cute too. But not as cute as Gage."

Off and on she had fought back a pang of jealousy when Gage buried himself in the part of the high roller and was talking to the woman hanging on his arm or grabbing his butt. It bothered her to see it and that was when she got hit. Nothing like a fist in the eye to bring your attention back to the here and now!

As she readied for her fight against Ryu she remembered back to when Gage had been injured by that explosion. The hearing loss that almost cost him his badge had been reversible thanks to an experimental surgery. While she watched over him she all but confessed her love for him. Then he woke up and said that he was too zoned on anesthesia to remember what she said only that he had heard her voice. Since then, she had kept her feelings to herself but knew she would have to tell him someday before he went on a bust and didn't come back. "Time for that later." she told herself sternly. "Only here and now matter." The Official looked over to Ryu and said: "Are you ready?" He nodded. Turning to her he said the same thing: "Are you ready?" She nodded. He dropped his arm and called out: "Let's get it on!"

Gage watched closely as the fight opened up. The blond bombshell on his arm tried whispering something to him but he shushed her a little too sternly and she looked like she'd been slapped but was quiet. Both fighters circled each other warily. Sydney was the first to probe for an opening. Ryu kept just out of range. As she recovered her stance, Ryu burst forward in motion that Gage only barely saw start. He moved in with a low left uppercut to the body, right punch to her face, high right round kick to the head and finishing with a mid-body spinning side kick. Sydney was able to stop the uppercut and almost avoided the right punch but it did connect some and sent her face to the right. She ducked under the round kick but ended up practically eating the spinning side kick. She fell back and almost went down but recovered and stood back up. She seemed a little dazed but recovered quickly. She charged forward and threw a double spin kick combo.

The first hit Ryu in the chest but he brought up his arm in time to block the second kick completely from hitting him in the head. Not that it mattered; it was as if he hadn't even felt the first hit. Sydney started a flurry of punches going high and low but Ryu slapped them down until she got too close at which point he spun into an elbow strike that connected with her solar plexus. The wind rushed out of her in a whoosh and before she could recover Ryu spun back to face her and cocking his right fist back, his left one tucked in at his waist, leapt up left leg extended his right bent up at the knee and yelled: "Shoryuken!"

Gage was at the same time amazed to see this technique and concerned for his partner because Ryu's right fist connected with her jaw and she was sent up into the air about a foot and backwards to crash into some truly startled onlookers. Ryu had only jumped up about three feet when he spiraled at the height of his leap and landed almost from where he had left the ground. He stood there a moment in his fighting stance then crossed his arms over his chest and looked away and down as a strong breeze came from somewhere and blew his belt and headband back. Gage gave up any pretense of unconcern and ran to Sydney's side. She was still breathing but unconscious. Gage checked her pulse and respiration, found them steady and strong as he saw red and looked for the man who had defeated his partner soundly . . .


	5. Chapter 5

Ryu had collected his bag and winnings and was already on his way out as he thought back to the fight he had just won. She was good. There was no doubt about that but she hadn't fought with her whole being. Good delivery, clean technique and a fair amount of power. It was too obvious though that she didn't fight for a living like he did. The man who ran to her side was greatly concerned for her. That much even Ryu could see for himself.

When he went to see "Ulsio the Rat" just after his arrival in the city, he saw that someone had just been there ahead of him because Ulsio was nursing a bloody nose. The Rat had been very forthcoming and the information had paid off nicely. Maybe the Rat knew of some other fights in the area. Just as Ryu made up his mind to go see Ulsio again, he heard a voice call out to him: "Hold it right there you son-of-a-bitch." Ryu turned to see . . .

Even before Gage was at Sydney's side, he had pressed the panic button and the S.W.A.T. team was entering the area just as he looked up trying to find Ryu. Men were yelling and women screaming as the S.W.A.T. stormed in and quickly put down any resistance. Acting as if he and Sydney were also under arrest to divert suspicion, he picked her up in his arms and was ushered out to a waiting ambulance. Before Trivette or Walker could ask him what happened, Gage was off and running. Ryu would pay for hurting the woman he loved though he hadn't told her yet. As he ran, he knew that he would have to tell her before she went on a bust and didn't come back. He said to himself: "Time for that later, only here and now matter." He found Ryu quicker than he thought as he called out: "Hold it right there you son-of-a-bitch . . ."

Ryu turned and saw the man in the suit coming toward him with righteous anger in his eyes. Ryu figured what was about to happen as he dropped his bag and was nearly tackled. Training took over as he grabbed his would-be assailant by the lapels of his jacket and did his Tomen-Nagi throw.

Gage felt himself flying through the air for a moment as he landed on his back. He got up as quickly as he could and saw Ryu do the same thing. Ryu said: "Your rage has unbalanced you. After you calm down I would love to have a match with you so that I can see your best, but for now, I won't fight you."

Gage felt like he was being mocked and in an uncharacteristic surge of anger started forward as he again saw something that shouldn't be possible. Ryu was in the air, one leg extended down like the point of a spinning top and his other leg propelling him through the air as Ryu called out: "Tatsumaki . . . senpuukyaku." Ryu called out as he started his hurricane kick and caught his attacker unprepared. One hit, two, three, four and five. Gage went down like a sandcastle in a large wave.

As Ryu landed from his hurricane kick, he knelt down and felt a strong and steady pulse. Standing up, he picked his bag back up off the ground and threw it over his shoulder and resumed walking in his previous direction.


	6. Chapter 6

When Gage woke up the next morning, he could tell by his surroundings, that he was in a hospital. His head felt like a sandbag, heavy and barely movable. He started to sit up but the pounding of his head quickly changed his mind for him. After a few minutes passed, he tried again only slowly this time and succeeded in sitting up to see Sydney sitting in a chair across from him. She was back in her regular clothes with the addition of a couple of small bandages, a fully developed black eye and a piece of a visible bruise on her chin.

She smiled at him and said: "I have two things to tell you Francis Gage." Gage knew he was in for a chewing out now; Sydney never used his full name unless he was in trouble. She stood up and walked over to his bedside and sat down on the edge of the bed. Gage was able to stammer out: "I know, I know. That was really". . . "Stupid of you." Sydney finished for him. Gage said: "Sorry." Sydney smiled at him then and said: "That was the first thing, the second is this". She leaned in suddenly and kissed Gage square on the mouth.

Gage felt his eyes go wide then surrendered himself to the moment. The kiss felt like forever but was only a handful of seconds before they broke apart. Sydney smiled and said: "Thanks for trying to avenge me."

As she said it, there was the sound of a throat clearing. They both turned to see Trivette walking in and saying: "I'm not interrupting am I?" Gage and Sydney stammered out: "Uh, no. No. Nothing at all." Trivette smiled and said: "Your secret is safe. Don't worry." Trivette walked over and said: "Sydney was able to give us a description of this guy Ryu. Here. Look at this. Is this him?" He held out an artists' rendition and said: "That's him alright. I've gotta say though, I've been hit by almost every type of punch or kick at some point. I've been hit by power and I've been hit with skill. But this guy is something more than both of those. I mean, somehow, I know that no matter how many times I ever get hit between now and the day I die, I will always remember him." Sydney nodded in agreement with her partner and added: "I have no doubt that he was holding back. I'm certain he could have killed us both if he wanted to."

Trivette made a whistle of amazement. He knew that Gage and Sydney both were skilled and strong in their respective fighting styles and anyone who could get past them without breaking a sweat was someone to be watchful of. "Okay. The doctors say they want you both to go home and take a day to rest because you both have concussions so since it's Saturday now, I'll see you both back at the office on Monday. Okay?"

Gage and Sydney nodded understanding. Trivette left then, leaving Gage and Sydney in a moment of agonizing silence before they both tried to speak at the same time. They laughed a little and this time Gage was the first to speak: "So where do we go from here Syd?" She thought a moment and said: "First, you need some clothes on so we can go to dinner somewhere quiet and talk about this." Gage countered with: "Well, you heard what the doctors told Trivette, so how about we order ina pizza?" Sydney said: "Your place or mine?"


	7. Chapter 7

Monday morning saw all four, Walker, Trivette, Gage and Sydney back in the office ready to go. Walker turned to Trivette and said: "What have you got for us Trivette?" Trivette wore a puzzled look on his face, and then said: "Not a lot. I came in Sunday morning so I could access the federal identity database and got this." He held out a fax sheet with two images on it sitting above the search field.

The images were clearly rendered. The picture on the left of the page said: "Department of Defense" and had the emblem of the U.S. Air Force on it and the other picture said: "International Police". Just below the two pictures were the words in all capital block letters: THE INFORMATION YOU HAVE REQUESTED IS CLASSIFIED.

Trivette said: "I thought I might have input something wrong but when I double checked and tried again, I got the same message and kicked off the internet to boot. Not five minutes later I got a phone call with the caller ID blocked and a voice said: "Leave it alone. This doesn't concern you." and hung up on. I couldn't even get a word in edgewise."

The three Rangers looked to each other when Gage said: "Like hell it doesn't. Even if Ryu has a guardian angel in the D.O.D. and Interpol, he's in our state, breaking our laws. I say we nab him anyway." Walker said: "You may be right but let me make a few calls and call in some favors and we'll see what happens from there." A stern voice from the back of the room called out: "Don't bother trying Ranger Walker."

All four looked over to the owner of the voice. Easily taller than Gage, (not counting the hair), Wearing a military working dress uniform, biceps bigger than the ammunition drum on an old style Tommy gun, pants creased to perfection and shoes polished to a mirror-like sheen, Colonel William Guile walked into the Texas Ranger office and said: "Let's talk."

The four Rangers plus one slightly irritated Air Force Colonel went into one of the interrogation rooms where they could talk in relative privacy. The four sat down around the table as the Colonel closed and locked the door, pulled all the shades and unplugged the camera from its socket. The only problem with this last measure was that the camera wasn't meant to be unplugged without tools. The Colonel had yanked the camera off the wall without a struggle and set the sparking object on the table.

"First of all," he started. "I want you to understand, that officially, I am _not_ here." Gage cut in with: "Funny, you look like your here and your fingerprints are all over that camera now." Walker said sharply: "Gage, now is _not_ the time to be flippant." Gage took the rebuke and apologized immediately. Guile smirked and said: "That's okay. Your camera will be repaired by C.O.B. today. Anyway, my office was notified about your interest in Ryu and I'm here as a courtesy so I need you to listen. Ryu helped us out once and so I'm saying, forget about him. I want you to either irretrievably "lose" all your evidence about Ryu or surrender it to me today. Unless he's committed some kind of capital crime or something, he doesn't exist except as rumor and hearsay, alright?"

Walker, as lead officer spoke: "Can you tell us why Colonel? While he has technically committed a misdemeanor by streetfighting, it's the assault on two of my officers that I'm concerned about most." Guile said: "That's classified Ranger Walker but there is a good reason for it. While I'm sorry about your officers, they should have known better than to fight him in the first place. I already know about your operation to break up the fight circuits that are sending you bodies."

Trivette stammered: "How can you know that? That's an ongoing investigation." Even as he said it, Trivette knew that it was rhetorical. He said: "Right, right. Forget I asked." Guile said: "In return for letting Ryu go completely, I am prepared to reciprocate with all the information you need to take this circuit down. Groups like that give a bad name to fighting and fighters in general so I'd like to see them go away as well. Do we have a deal?" Walker thought about it and said: "Alright Colonel. As a courtesy to you, we'll do it your way and if Ryu is taken in our sweep, I'll let him go myself."

Walker didn't have to ask his people if they understood. He knew that they would back him up. He said: "Trivette, give the Colonel all your data on Ryu. Sydney, get the security camera tape from the market and Gage, put all the paperwork together." Everyone acknowledged their orders and left, leaving only Walker and Guile in the room. Walker said: "Is there anything you can tell me Colonel?" Guile said: "Not much more than that I'm already keeping a discrete eye on Ryu because he helped us take down a monster that runs an organization the likes of which would give you nightmares. Believe me because the monster in question gave me a personal nightmare that I relive from time to time to this day."

Walker could sense the sincerity in Guile's words and stood up to shake his hand and said: "Understood Colonel. If I or the Texas Rangers can ever help you out sometime, just let me know." Guile accepted the proffered hand and said: "I just might take you up on that offer one of these days Ranger. Thank you for your cooperation."


	8. Chapter 8

Guile left the Ranger office with the materials on Ryu and true to his word, the camera was fixed by close of business. Walker got his team together again the next day and said: "Thanks to the information given to us, we have the dates, times and places of the next several fights but these guys aren't going to get that far. As soon as we verify these items, they are going down. According to the files the Colonel gave us, the semi-finals are going to start one week from this Friday. While we gave up all of our hard data on Ryu to the Colonel, we still remember what we were able to gather on him, any thoughts?"

Trivette started: "I was able to build a piece of a psychological profile on him before we lost the data. He lives his life fighting. He seems to be searching for something, don't know what though. He doesn't stay in one place very long and he's always moving. Going off of the security camera footage, I'd say that he has a strong sense of right and wrong and will always act in the most honorable way regardless of personal gain or loss. Anything else?" Sydney spoke up next: "From the simple fact that he fought me in the first place, he has no qualms over who he fights. Male, female, young or old. I think it's safe to say that if they step into a ring with him, he knows that they know the risks of fighting in general."

Gage said: "It's a safe bet that he doesn't just jump into any fight. When I went after him, he basically said that I was too angry to fight well but that when I was calm, he would enjoy a match with me. He was just defending himself, so personally I would drop any charges for assault if I were asked to press them."

Walker listened and said: "Okay then. Trivette, you'll go in as the manager this time and Gage, you'll be the fighter so I need you to stop shavingand cut your hairso your profile will be different just in case any of the same people from last time show up. Sydney and I will be waiting in the wings with the S.W.A.T. team. For now though, we'll start squeezing our sources to verify as much as we can."

By day's end, they had made some headway. Everyone would be on the streets tomorrow, looking up their sources. As Sydney and Gage walked to their respective vehicles, Sydney turned to Gage and said: "That was a really objective observation you made to Walker and Trivette." Gage said: "Thanks, I think." Sydney smiled: "It's a good thing. I meant it as a compliment. What are you going to do if you meet Ryu in the ring?" Gage smiled back and said: "Be calm, and give him the best fight I can muster. Got any plans tonight?" She answered: "Not really. How about dinner at my place at seven?" she asked. "Sounds good. I'll see you at seven then." As Gage drove off, Sydney said to herself: "Dinner tonight, and if all goes well, breakfast tomorrow."


	9. Chapter 9

Three weeks passed. The first semi-final had a buzz cut and bearded Gage winning. No sign of Ryu. The second semi-final saw Ryu emerging victorious but the final was broken up by some overzealous metro-detectives. Ryu and Gage were just about to fight when the S.W.A.T. broke in and ruined everything. True to Walker's word, he let Ryu go as soon as was feasible and then proceeded to chew the metro detectives' asses for interfering with an ongoing Ranger investigation. A day or so later, Walker caught up with Ryu as he was walking out of town.

Ryu saw the silver truck pass him by and felt the same fighting spirit from before when it pulled to the shoulder a little ways ahead. The driver got out and approached Ryu. About Ryu's height. Full beard and a Native American jacket on over a denim shirt tucked neatly into the waistband of a pair of faded blue jeans. Well broken in cowboy boots and a large hat completed the outfit. Ryu said: "You're the Texas Ranger who let me go the other day." It wasn't a question.

Walker said: "Yes, I am. My name is Cordell Walker. I have to say that you have friends in strange places." Ryu nodded and said: "You must be referring to Guile." At Walker's nod, Ryu said: "I've known about him for some time now but he's not the reason you're here is it." Again, it wasn't a question, but a statement of fact. Walker nodded again and said: "Actually I wanted to thank you and ask something of you." "What's that?" asked Ryu.

Walker said: "First, thanks for setting my two officers straight. Remember the first two that you defeated the night of your first big fight here." Ryu pondered for a moment and said, "Oh. Those two. How are they doing now?" he said. "Well," Walker started, Gage is annoyed that he didn't get to fight you when he was ready but he'll get over it. Thanks to your beating him and his partner, they've both, I'm guessing, confessed their feelings for each other. It's good to see them together. I've suspected for a while now that they were made for each other and you helped them get there. So thank you very much. Second, I wanted to ask you for a match."

Ryu thought about it for a moment and accepted the challenge. Walker offered him a ride to his ranch, which he accepted and they were just pulling into Walker's driveway around noon. Ryu looked around the area and saw the things one might see on a ranch. Trees, split rail fencing, a horse corral and small barn off to one side with Walker's home nestled in the center serenely and looking as if it belonged there.

Ryu asked: "Did you build it all yourself?" Walker answered: "Not all of it. I had the help of some friends though. Especially Big Dog." "Big Dog?" Ryu asked. Walker said: "Yeah. Cee Dee Parker but we all called him Big Dog. He taught me a lot of things about being a Texas Ranger, how to go into an operation and come out alive. It wasn't his time to die so I miss him still to this day." Ryu listened, and then said: "Something of a father figure?" "Yeah." Walker answered.

Ryu said: "I too had a father figure. The monk who raised me and taught me. He too was taken from me before his time, murdered by his brother." Walker was silent while both remembered the most important people in their lives. Walker pointed to a field, "You see those hay bales that form a ring? That's where." Ryu looked over and nodded understanding. Walker said: "I'll be right there as soon as I tell my wife not to worry."

Ryu smiled and said: "My best friend is married as well. He says it's the greatest thing next to being a parent." Walker chuckled and said: "I feel the same way. Are you married?" Ryu said: "No. Never made time for it. My path is a solitary one." Walker answered back: "You should. I can tell already that you are a man of great integrity." Ryu thanked him for the compliment and walked to the ring area that had been set up.

Inside, Alex Cayhill-Walker was picking her jaw up off of the floor. "What? You invited a complete stranger to our home for a fight? Cordell Walker, are you out of your mind! Did you spend too much time in the sweat tent or something?" Walker embraced his wife and nuzzled her neck in just the right spot. Alex said: "Stop that." "Stop what?" Walker asked. She answered: "Stop that. I want to be mad at you right now." Walker said: "Don't worry Alex. I trust him. Ask Sydney and Gage when they get here and they can vouch for him." "Oh great. It'll be a rumble-style picnic." Alex said. "Just promise me you'll be careful, okay?" Walker smiled and said: "I will."

An hour later, Sydney, Gage and Trivette were there followed shortly by Guile in a humvee from the local National Guard base. Walker was in his own gi and belt, warmed up and ready to go, as was Ryu. No one asked how Guile knew to be there. They took it on a kind of faith that of all people, Colonel Guile, Air Force spook, would be there to see this. This time, he was wearing a pair of woodland camouflage pants bloused into a pair of broken in combat boots and wearing an olive drab green tank top tucked into his pants and belt, dogtags conspicuously present.

After a short reunion with Ryu, he stood in the center of the impromptu ring and said: "Well folks, since I'm the only one who can be objective right about now, I think it only fair if I officiate this party. Ryu already knows but for the rest of you, there are a few things to keep in mind. This is a street fight, plain and simple. No rules, no laws, and no interference from anyone else outside of this ring. I've known Ryu since he was 17 or so, so I know he can be trusted. I also know that you may feel the need to come in on Walker's side. If you do though, you answer to me. This is a one-on-one fight."

Gage snorted at this last comment which did not go unnoticed by Guile as he said: "That's the second time you've done that kid, this is the only warning I'm gonna give you, so stow it." Again, Gage snorted and Guile turned to Walker and said: "Is he always like that Ranger Walker?" Walker said: "Not usually." Guile looked over to a deadwood tree that hadn't been felled yet and said: "Do you need that tree?"

Walker looked over and said: "No. Why?" Guile answered not with words, but with action. Facing the tree in stance Guile stretched both his hands back from his torso and said: "Sonic Boom!" The yellow disks of ki energy flew straight and true at the tree and with a loud splintering crack, the tree was obliterated. Pieces of it flew all over the yard as Guile looked back to Gage and said: "Have I made myself clear kid?"

Gage just stared at what was left of the tree and nodded speechlessly. Guile looked to Walker and said: "Are you ready?" Walker nodded. Turning to Ryu he said the same thing: "Are you ready?" At his nod, Guile brought one arm high and dropped it as he said: "Let's get it on!"

Ryu and Walker edged towards each other. Both of them defensive, measuring each other's willingness to commit to an attack. Both fighters moved forward quickly and threw right punches that sailed past each other's defense, connecting at the same time and sending both their heads back. Walker spun into a left spinning back knuckle but Ryu had already ducked low with a left elbow smash to Walker's gut which set him back a couple of steps.

Walker then tried a left outside crescent kick that Ryu barely avoided. Walker stepped in and did a right outside crescent kick that Ryu parried, thus opening Walker up for a low left uppercut to the gut, right punch to the face, one-two combo that couldn't be blocked.

Both shots connected forcing Walker back another few steps. With little more than a small cut on the cheek to show for damage so far, Walker jumped into a helicopter kick. Ryu was barely able to bring his arm along his head in time. Not so much to block with as to absorb the power of Walker's kick which was incredible. Now it was Ryu's turn to be knocked back a step or two, but the respite Walker had gained was gone an instant later as Ryu threw his spinning heel kick.

Walker ducked but thought to stay low too late to avoid the last two hits of the hurricane kick that Ryu had just performed. The first hit rocked Walker's head in the opposite direction of the impact, just to recover and get hit again, this time spinning Walker completely around and by then it was too late to even consider blocking. "Shoryuken!" yelled Ryu as he landed from his hurricane kick. The punch of the Rising Dragon caught Walker unprepared.

As before when Ryu had used the punch on Sydney, Ryu only spiraled up about three feet to land from almost the same spot he had launched from. As Walker was getting up from the last hit, Ryu brought both hands to his waist as he channeled the ambient ki energy of the environment into a tight ball of blue energy: "Shinku . . . hadoken!"

The ball of condensed ki energy known as the Hadoken flew from Ryu's outstretched palms and struck Walker at the center of mass sending him flying back three feet into the hay bales that marked the boundary of the ring. There was a flicker of residual energy on Walker's inert form as he lay still. Trivette was the first one to Walker's side. Checking his pulse and breathing, he looked up to the expectant faces of Sydney and Gage. He said: "He alright. Don't worry. He'll be fine." Gage and Sydney let out the breath that they didn't know they'd been holding.

Walker awoke with the help of some smelling salts two minutes later as his wife tended his cut. That done, he walked over to Ryu and said: "Thank you for the match. It was exhilarating." Ryu bowed in return and said: "You fought well, I was honored."

The match done, everyone was invited to a large dinner. After that was done and cleaned up, they sat out on the porch of Walker's home. Gage had his arm around Sydney's shoulders as she leaned into him on the porch swing. Walker and Alex sat together with their daughter and on a third side were Trivette, Guile and Ryu.

Everyone was laughing and enjoying the company. Ryu said to himself: "This is indeed a meeting of equals. No grudges, no anger, no resentment." Walker turned to Ryu and said: "So Ryu, any idea where you're headed?" His answer: "Don't know." Would you like a ride?" Walker asked. Ryu answered: "Rather walk."

The next morning, it was so. Ryu was gone but his sheets were all folded neatly at the foot of the bed he used. Walker saw where his tracks started but they were gone after only a few steps. Walker said to himself: "So long. See you again, my friend."

He was walking this day. The same as every other day . . .


End file.
